NYPD Blue

Background:

American actress and former CNN anchor Andrea Thompson enjoyed a flourishing modeling career before making the transformation to acting in the late 1980s and then to journalism in the early 2000s. She is known for her roles of the scheming Genele Ericson in “Falcon Crest” (1989-1990, earned a Soap Opera Digest nomination), Talia Winters in “Babylon 5” (1994-1995), Com. Alison Krennick on “JAG” (1996), Det. Jill Kirkendall in “NYPD Blue” (1996-2000, netted three SAG nominations) and Dr. Nicole Duncan in “24” (2003-2004). She has also acted in several films, including Oliver Stone's “Wall Street” (1987), Tom Mankiewicz's “Delirious” (1991, with John Candy), “A Gun, a Car, a Blonde” (1997) and “Rocket's Red Glare” (2000, won a New York International Independent Film & Video Festival Award). Thompson drew controversy in the world of journalism with her recruitment as an anchor on CNN's “Headline News” in 2001, which led to her departure from the network in 2002.

Thompson is a two time divorcee. She is the mother of 1. She was once romantically linked to Kevin McKown (born in 1952), a co-publisher of Southwest Magazine, and Gianluigi Assenato (born in 1964), an Italian designer.

Jerry Doyle's Widow

Childhood and Family:

Rebecca Andrea Thompson, who would later be famous as Andrea Thompson, was born on January 6, 1960, in Dayton, Ohio, to Leslie Gerard Thompson and Mary Thompson Allen. Her family relocated to Australia when she was seven years old. In the 1970s, her parents divorced, and she then moved back to the US to live with her mother and three siblings in Florida. The Thompson children were raised in a stern Catholic household.

After dropping out of high school, Andrea spent five years traveling throughout the world and eventually ended up in New York City. She then launched a career in modeling and began taking acting classes at the Strasberg Studio and at the Herbert Bergdorf Studios under Uta Hagen.

Andrea married Davod Guc on September 19, 1987, but later divorced in 1990. Five years later, she married Brooklyn-born actor Jerry Doyle (born on July 16, 1956). However, the second married also had a short life when they divorced in 1997. Andrea has a son named Alec Thompson (born in 1992). She rejected to identify his father.

Falcon Crest

Career:

Arriving in New York City at age 16, Ohio-born, Australian-raised Andrea Thompson was spotted by influential agent Irene Marie and soon entered the world of modeling. She was a successful model, and after some training, she tried her hand in acting. She said, “Acting is a sense of wonder and magic and mystery for me and when life takes me on a new journey, I simply remember the smile my first ballet recital put on my face and I move forward.”

The alum of HB Studio made her early feature film appearances in the Italian-made drama “Manhattan gigolò” and the Henry Sala-directed horror “Nightmare Weekend” (both 1986). In 1987, she landed her first important role in the well-received drama “Wall Street,” directed by Oliver Stone and starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen. There she was cast as a hooker named Lisa. It was followed by starring roles in “Doin' Time on Planet Earth,” opposite Nicholas Strouse, and in the independent action/comedy “Hot Splash” (both 1988).

Thompson made her television debut in a 1987 episode of Dennis Farina's “Crime Story” called “Robbery, Armed,” and went on to appear in episodes of “Spenser: For Hire” and “Monsters” (both 1988) before receiving a big break with the CBS soap opera “Falcon Crest,” starring Jane Wyman. She joined the popular show in 1989 during its final season, and picked up a 1991 Soap Opera Digest nomination for Outstanding Villainess: Prime Time for her role as the calculating Genele Ericson.

After the demise of “Falcon Crest,” Thompson was cast along side John Candy and Mariel Hemingway in the comedy film “Delirious” (1991), for director Tom Mankiewicz, and made a string of guest appearances in television shows such as “Baywatch” (2 episodes, 1991), “Murder, She Wrote” (1 episode, 1991), “Civil Wars”(1992, 1 episode) and “Silk Stalkings” (1 episode, 1993). She did not return to TV show as a regular until she was cast as telepath Talia Winters in the science fiction series “Babylon 5,” created by J. Michael Straczynski. She was on the show during the first and second seasons from 1994 to 1995 and quit to join the cast of the NBC legal drama “JAG” (1996) in the role of Commander Alison Krennick. Due to low ratings, the show was canceled by the network after one season before eventually picked up by CBS, where it would be a huge success until its demise in 2005. Thompson became one of several actors who left “JAG” following its first failed season.

Later, in November 1996, Thompson bounced back when she landed her noted role of Det. Jill Kirkendall on the Steven Bochco police procedural/drama “NYPD Blue.“ Starting out as a recurring player in the forth season, she moved on to a regular cast in the following season and went on to stay with the show until its seventh season in May 2000. In addition to popularity, the role also brought the actress three consecutive Screen Actors Guild nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1998 to 2000). Thompson departed the show to chase a career in journalism.

In the meantime, Thompson kept on busy taking on other projects. She guest starred in “Nowhere Man” (1996) and “Arli$$” (1997), appeared in the movies “A Gun, a Car, a Blonde” (1997, as The Blonde / Jade Norfleet ) and “Lost Valley” (1998, as Sandy Franzetti), and narrated the TV film “Sweetheart Swindlers” (2000). She also did voice overs in the TV series “Captain Simian & The Space Monkeys” (1996) and the short film “Encounter in the Thrid Dimension” (1999), and made guest appearances in ten episodes of “Hollywood Squares” (1999). In 2000, Thompson played Lois Shayne in Joseph Manduke's family/thriller, “Rocket's Red Glare,” and was handed the Feature Film Award for Best Actress at the 2001 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival for her performance.

Thompson got her start in journalism as a general assignment correspondent for the CBS affiliate KRQE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with salary $26,000 per year. Within a year, in June 2001, she had landed a coveted gig as an evening anchor on “Headline News,” a half hour national news program aired on CNN. Despite receiving credit for putting her acting career on the backburner in favor for journalism, Thompson faced harsh criticism with her recruitment at CNN, largely because she was a high school drop out and had only a small amount of experience in the field. It became worst when her bare photos and videoclips taken from her 1980s era films leaked on the Internet. Eventually, in March 2002, she decided to leave CNN, citing lacking time with her young son. She next joined Court TV and hosted the network's Saturday-night line-up of shows, including “Forensic Files,” “I, Detective,” “Body of Evidence” and “The System.”

In November 2003, Thompson resumed her acting career by having a recurring role on Fox's “24,” playing Dr. Nicole Duncan. After five episodes, she left the show in April 2004. She also appeared as Justine Hazelton in an episode of “Touching Evil” and as Dr. Lois McCarthy in an episode of “Medical Investigation” (both 2004). In the short film “Passing Darkness” (2005), she was cast as Jessica, opposite Debra Hopkins as Elaine Ways.

After a guest appearance in “Bones” (2007), as Nina Sanborn, Thompson could be seen as serious looking woman in “Heroes: Destiny,” spin off from “Heroes.”

Awards:

• New York International Independent Film & Video Festival: Feature Film Award, Best Actress, “Rocket's Red Glare,” 2001